Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Cocaine Enhances Hiv-1 Infectivity In Monocyte Derived Dendritic Cells By Suppressing Microrna-155, Jessica Napuri, Sudheesh Pilakka-Kanthikeel, Andrea Raymond, Marisela Agudelo, Adriana Yndart-Arias, Madhavan Nair, Shailendra K. Saxena

HWCOM Faculty Publications

Cocaine and other drugs of abuse increase HIV-induced immunopathogenesis; and neurobiological mechanisms of cocaine addiction implicate a key role for microRNAs (miRNAs), single-stranded non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression and defend against viruses. In fact, HIV defends against miRNAs by actively suppressing the expression of polycistronic miRNA cluster miRNA-17/92, which encodes miRNAs including miR-20a. IFN-g production by natural killer cells is regulated by miR-155 and this miRNA is also critical to dendritic cell (DC) maturation. However, the impact of cocaine on miR-155 expression and subsequent HIV replication is unknown. We examined the impact of cocaine on two miRNAs, miR-20a and …

Trypanosomatid Aquaporins: Roles In Physiology And Drug Response, Goutam Mandal, Jose F. Orta, Mansi Sharma, Rita Mukhopadhyay

HWCOM Faculty Publications

In the class Kinetoplastida, we find an order of parasitic protozoans classified as Trypanosomatids. Three major pathogens form part of this order, Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, and Leishmania, which are responsible for disease and fatalities in millions of humans worldwide, especially in non-industrialized countries in tropical and sub-tropical regions. In order to develop new drugs and treatments, the physiology of these pathogenic protozoans has been studied in detail, specifically the significance of membrane transporters in host parasites interactions. Aquaporins and Aquaglyceroporins (AQPs) are a part of the major intrinsic proteins (MIPs) super-family. AQPs are characterized for their ability to facilitate …

Better Primer Design For Metagenomics Applications By Increasing Taxonomic Distinguishability, Melita Jaric, Jonathan Segal, Eugenia Silva-Herzog, Lisa Schneper, Kalai Mathee, Giri Narasimhan

HWCOM Faculty Publications

Current methods of understanding microbiome composition and structure rely on accurately estimating the number of distinct species and their relative abundance. Most of these methods require an efficient PCR whose forward and reverse primers bind well to the same, large number of identifiable species, and produce amplicons that are unique. It is therefore not surprising that currently used universal primers designed many years ago are not as efficient and fail to bind to recently cataloged species. We propose an automated general method of designing PCR primer pairs that abide by primer design rules and uses current sequence database as input. …

Perceptions And Experiences Of Intimate Partner Violence Among Hispanic College Students, Racquel Vera

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is recognized as a serious, growing problem on college campuses. IPV rates among college students exceed estimates reported for the general population. Few studies have examined the impact of IPV among the Hispanic college student (HCS) population or explored how HCSs perceive and experience IPV.

Focusing on young adults (ages 18 to 25 years), this mixed methods study was designed to explore the perceptions and experiences of IPV focusing on levels of victimization and perpetration in relation to gender role attitudes and beliefs, exposure to parental IPV, acculturation, and religiosity. A sample of 120 HCSs was …

Maximum Equilibrium Prevalence Of Mosquito-Borne Microparasite Infections In Humans, Marcos Amaku, Marcelo Nascimento, Francisco Antonio Bezerra Coutinho, Luis Fernandez Lopez, Eduardo Massad

Center for Internet Augmented Research & Assessment (Ciara)

To determine the maximum equilibrium prevalence of mosquito-borne microparasitic infections, this paper proposes a general model for vector-borne infections which is flexible enough to comprise the dynamics of a great number of the known diseases transmitted by arthropods. From equilibrium analysis, we determined the number of infected vectors as an explicit function of the model’s parameters and the prevalence of infection in the hosts. From the analysis, it is also possible to derive the basic reproduction number and the equilibrium force of infection as a function of those parameters and variables. From the force of infection, we were able to …

The Association Of Depression And Perceived Stress With Beta Cell Function Between African And Haitian Americans With And Without Type 2 Diabetes, Fatma G. Huffman, Maria Vallasciani, Joan Vaccaro, Joel C. Exebio, Gustavo G. Zarini, Ali Nayer, Sahar Ajabshir

Department of Dietetics and Nutrition

Background: Diabetes and diabetes-related complications are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Depressive symptoms and perceived stress have been identified as possible risk factors for beta cell dysfunction and diabetes. The purpose of this study was to assess associations between depression symptoms and perceived stress with beta cell function between African and Haitian Americans with and without type 2 diabetes. Participants and Methods: Informed consent and data were available for 462 participants (231 African Americans and 231 Haitian Americans) for this cross-sectional study. A demographic questionnaire developed by the Primary Investigator was used to collect information …

A Novel Signal Processing Method For Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring In Spinal Surgeries, Krishnatej Vedala

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring is an integral part of spinal surgeries and involves the recording of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP). However, clinical application of IONM still requires anywhere between 200 to 2000 trials to obtain an SSEP signal, which is excessive and introduces a significant delay during surgery to detect a possible neurological damage. The aim of this study is to develop a means to obtain the SSEP using a much less, twelve number of recordings. The preliminary step involved was to distinguish the SSEP with the ongoing brain activity. We first establish that the brain activity is indeed quasi-stationary whereas …

Genetic Markers, Birth Characteristics, And Childhood Leukemia Risk, Amy Kennedy

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The cause for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains unknown, but male gender is a risk factor, and among ethnicities, Hispanics have the highest risk. In this dissertation, we explored correlations among genetic polymorphisms, birth characteristics, and the risk of childhood ALL in a multi-ethnic sample in 161 cases and 231 controls recruited contemporaneously (2007-2012) in Houston, TX. We first examined three lymphoma risk markers, since lymphoma and ALL both stem from lymphoid cells. Of these, rs2395185 showed a risk association in non-Hispanic White males (OR=2.8, P=0.02; P_interaction=0.03 for gender), but not in Hispanics. We verified previously …

Aspects Of The Innate Immune System In The Caribbean Octocoral Swiftia Exserta, Lorenzo P. Menzel

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The immune systems of cnidaria are important to study for two reasons: to gain a better understanding of the evolution of immune responses, and to provide a basis to partially redress the precipitous world-wide die-offs of reef corals, some of which have been attributed to diseases and stress. Many immune responses share ancient evolutionary origins and are common across many taxa.

Using Swiftia exserta, an azooxanthellate ahermatypic local octocoral, as a proxy model organism to study aspects of innate immunity in corals and cnidaria allows us to address both of the reasons listed above while not using endangered species. …

Impact Of Vegetable Preparation Method And Taste-Test On Vegetable Preference For First Grade Children In The United States, Marie Veronyck Colas, Joan Vaccaro, Gustavo G. Zarini, Fatma G. Huffman

Department of Dietetics and Nutrition

How children rate vegetables may be influenced by the preparation method. The primary objective of this study was for first grade students to be involved in a cooking demonstration and to taste and rate vegetables raw and cooked. First grade children of two classes (N= 52: 18 boys and 34 girls (approximately half Hispanic) that had assented and had signed parental consent participated in the study. The degree of liking a particular vegetable was recorded by the students using a hedonic scale of five commonly eaten vegetables tasted first raw (pre-demonstration) and then cooked (post-demonstration). A food habit questionnaire was …

The Influence Of Neurocognitive Impairment, Alcohol And Other Drug (Aod) Use, And Psychosocial Factors On Antiretroviral Treatment Adherence, Service Utilization And Viral Load Among Hiv-Seropositive Adults, Jennifer Attonito

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Among people living with HIV (PLWH), adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can be affected by problems of neurocognitive (NC) impairment, stress, alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse, and other barriers. The aims of this research were to: (1) examine factors associated with NC impairment, (2) explore relationships between psychosocial variables with ART adherence and viral load (VL), and (3) evaluate the efficacy of an evidence-based intervention in improving ART adherence, increasing service utilization, and decreasing VL.

The first study (n=370) was cross sectional and used structural equation modeling to test whether AOD use, years living with HIV, and time from …

The Effects Of Age, Ethnicity, Sexual Dysfunction, Urinary Incontinence, Masculinity, And Relationship With The Partner On The Quality Of Life Of Men With Prostate Cancer, Suha Ballout

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer, the leading cause of cancer in men, has positive survival rates and constitutes a challenge to men with its side effects. Studies have addressed the bivaritate relationships between prostate cancer treatment side effects masculinity, partner relationship, and quality of life (QOL). However, few studies have highlighted the relationships among prostate cancer treatment side effects (i.e., sexual dysfunction, urinary incontinence), masculinity, and relationship with the partner together on QOL in men. Most studies were conducted with predominately Caucasian sample of men. Miami is a unique multiethnic setting that hosts Cuban, Columbian, Venezuelan, Haitian, other Latin American and Caribbean communities …

The Tongue Enables Computer And Wheelchair Control For People With Spinal Cord Injury, Jeonghee Kim, Hangue Park, Joy Bruce, Erica Sutton, Diane Rowles, Deborah Pucci, Jaimee Holbrook, Julia Minocha, Beatrice Nardone, Dennis West, Anne Laumann, Eliot Roth, Mike Jones, Emir Veledar, Maysam Ghovanloo

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

The Tongue Drive System (TDS) is a wireless and wearable assistive technology, designed to allow individuals with severe motor impairments such as tetraplegia to access their environment using voluntary tongue motion. Previous TDS trials used a magnetic tracer temporarily attached to the top surface of the tongue with tissue adhesive. We investigated TDS efficacy for controlling a computer and driving a powered wheelchair in two groups of able-bodied subjects and a group of volunteers with spinal cord injury (SCI) at C6 or above. All participants received a magnetic tongue barbell and used the TDS for five to six consecutive sessions. …

Deep Sequencing Analyses Expands The Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Ampr Regulon To Include Small Rna-Mediated Regulation Of Iron Acquisition, Heat Shock And Oxidative Stress Response, Deepak Balasubramania, Hansi Kumari, Melita Jaric, Mitch Fernandez, Keith H. Turner, Simon L. Dove, Giri Narasimhan, Stephen Lory, Kalai Mathee

Department of Biological Sciences

Pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a major cause of many acute and chronic human infections, is determined by tightly regulated expression of multiple virulence factors. Quorum sensing (QS) controls expression of many of these pathogenic determinants. Previous microarray studies have shown that the AmpC β-lactamase regulator AmpR, a member of the LysR family of transcription factors, also controls non-β-lactam resistance and multiple virulence mechanisms. Using RNA-Seq and complementary assays, this study further expands the AmpR regulon to include diverse processes such as oxidative stress, heat shock and iron uptake. Importantly, AmpR affects many of these phenotypes, in part, by regulating expression …

Magneto-Electric Nanoparticles To Enable Field-Controlled High-Specificity Drug Delivery To Eradicate Ovarian Cancer Cells, Rakesh Guduru, Ping Liang, Carolyn Runowicz, Madhavan Nair, Venkata Atluri, Sakhrat Khizroev

HWCOM Faculty Publications

The nanotechnology capable of high-specificity targeted delivery of anti-neoplastic drugs would be a significant breakthrough in Cancer in general and Ovarian Cancer in particular. We addressed this challenge through a new physical concept that exploited (i) the difference in the membrane electric properties between the tumor and healthy cells and (ii) the capability of magneto-electric nanoparticles (MENs) to serve as nanosized converters of remote magnetic field energy into the MENs’ intrinsic electric field energy. This capability allows to remotely control the membrane electric fields and consequently trigger high-specificity drug uptake through creation of localized nano-electroporation sites. In in-vitro studies on …

Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) Reverses Β-Amyloid1-42 Induced Toxicity In Human Neuronal Cells: Implications In Hiv-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (Hand), Kesava Rao Venkata Kurapati, Venkata Atluri, Thangavel Samikkannu, Madhavan Nair

HWCOM Faculty Publications

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by progressive dysfunction of memory and higher cognitive functions with abnormal accumulation of extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles throughout cortical and limbic brain regions. At present no curative treatment is available, and research focuses on drugs for slowing disease progression or providing prophylaxis. Withania somnifera (WS) also known as ‘ashwagandha’ is used widely in Ayurvedic medicine as a nerve tonic and memory enhancer. However, there is a paucity of data on the potential neuroprotective effects of W.somnifera against β-Amyloid (1–42)-induced neuropathogenesis. In the present study, we have tested the neuroprotective effects of methanol:Chloroform …

Allatotropin: An Ancestral Myotropic Neuropeptide Involved In Feeding, Maria Eugenia Alzugaray, Mariana Laura Adami, Luis Anibal Diambra, Salvado Hernandez-Martinez, Christina Damborenea, Fernando Gabriel Noriega, Jorge Rafael Ronderos

Department of Biological Sciences

Background

Cell-cell interactions are a basic principle for the organization of tissues and organs allowing them to perform integrated functions and to organize themselves spatially and temporally. Peptidic molecules secreted by neurons and epithelial cells play fundamental roles in cell-cell interactions, acting as local neuromodulators, neurohormones, as well as endocrine and paracrine messengers. Allatotropin (AT) is a neuropeptide originally described as a regulator of Juvenile Hormone synthesis, which plays multiple neural, endocrine and myoactive roles in insects and other organisms.

Methods

A combination of immunohistochemistry using AT-antibodies and AT-Qdot nanocrystal conjugates was used to identify immunoreactive nerve cells containing the …

Social Capital, Hiv Risk Behavior And Substance Use Among Recent Latino Immigrants In South Florida, Elena Cyrus

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social capital, or social cohesion or group connectedness, can influence both HIV risk behavior and substance use. Because recent immigrants undergo a change in environment, one of the consequences can be a change in social capital. There may be an association among changes in social capital, and HIV risk behavior and substance use post immigration. The dissertation focused on the interface of these three variables among recent Latino immigrants (RLIs) in South Florida.

The first manuscript is a systematic review of social capital and HIV risk behavior, and served as a partial background for the second and third manuscripts. Twelve …

Specific Increase In Mdr1 Mediated Drug-Efflux In Human Brain Endothelial Cells Following Co-Exposure To Hiv-1 And Saquinavir, Upal Roy, Christine Bulot, Kerstin Honer Zu Bentrup, Debasis Mondal

HWCOM Faculty Publications

Persistence of HIV-1 reservoirs within the Central Nervous System (CNS) remains a significant challenge to the efficacy of potent anti-HIV-1 drugs. The primary human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells (HBMVEC) constitutes the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) which interferes with anti-HIV drug delivery into the CNS. The ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters expressed on HBMVEC can efflux HIV-1 protease inhibitors (HPI), enabling the persistence of HIV-1 in CNS. Constitutive low level expression of several ABC-transporters, such as MDR1 (a.k.a. P-gp) and MRPs are documented in HBMVEC. Although it is recognized that inflammatory cytokines and exposure to xenobiotic drug substrates (e.g HPI) can …

Deep Sequencing Analyses Expands The Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Ampr Regulon To Include Small Rna-Mediated Regulation Of Iron Acquisition, Heat Shock And Oxidative Stress Response, Deepak Balasubramania, Hansi Kumari, Melita Jaric, Mitch Fernandez, Keith H. Turner, Simon L. Dove, Giri Narasimhan, Stephen Lory, Kalai Mathee

HWCOM Faculty Publications

Pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a major cause of many acute and chronic human infections, is determined by tightly regulated expression of multiple virulence factors. Quorum sensing (QS) controls expression of many of these pathogenic determinants. Previous microarray studies have shown that the AmpC β-lactamase regulator AmpR, a member of the LysR family of transcription factors, also controls non-β-lactam resistance and multiple virulence mechanisms. Using RNA-Seq and complementary assays, this study further expands the AmpR regulon to include diverse processes such as oxidative stress, heat shock and iron uptake. Importantly, AmpR affects many of these phenotypes, in part, by regulating …

Effect Of Mandibular Mobilization On Electromyographic Signals In Muscles Of Mastication And Static Balance In Individuals With Temporomandibular Disorder: Study Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Tria, Yasmin El Hage, Fabiano Politti, Dowglas F. Magalhaes De Soura, Carolina Marciela Herpich, Igor Phillip Dos Santos Gloria, Cid Andre Fidelis De Paula Gomes, Ana Paula Amaral, Nivea Cristina De Melo, Thais Correa Da Silva, Edgar Edmur Camargo Arruda, Cesar Ferreira Amorim, Inae Caroline Gadotti, Tabajara Oliveira Gonzalez, Fausto Berzin, Sandra Kalil Bussadori, Marilia Barbosa Santos Garcia, Bruno Roberto Borges Barbosa, Daniela Aparecida Biasotto-Gonzalez

Department of Physical Therapy Faculty Publications

Background

The stomatognathic system and dysfunction in this system may be related to postural control. The proposal of the present study is to assess the effect of mandibular mobilization in individuals with temporomandibular disorder using surface electromyography of the muscles of mastication and stabilometric variables.

Methods/Design

A randomized, controlled, blind, clinical trial will be carried out, with the participants divided into three groups: 1) facial massage therapy (control group), 2) nonspecific mandibular mobilization and 3) specific mandibular mobilization. All groups will be assessed before and after treatment using the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders, surface electromyography of the masseter …

Features Of Portal Hypertension Are Associated With Major Adverse Events In Fontan Patients: The Vast Study, Robert W. Elder, Nancy M. Mccabe, Camden Hebson, Emir Veledar, Rene Romero, Ryan M. Ford, William T. Mahle, Brian E. Kogon, Anurag Sahu, Maan Jokhadar, Michael E. Mcconnell, Wendy M. Book

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Epidemiology Of Herpes Simplex Virus Type-2 Infection Among Pregnant Women In Rural Mysore Taluk, India, Aaron F. Bochner, Purnima Madhivanan, Bhavana Niranjankumar, Kavitha Ravi, Anjali Arun, Karl Krupp, Jeffrey D. Klausner

Department of Epidemiology

To assess the prevalence and determinants of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections among pregnant women attending mobile antenatal health clinic in rural villages in Mysore Taluk, India. Methods. Between January and September 2009, 487 women from 52 villages participated in this study. Each participant consented to provide a blood sample for HSV-2 and HIV testing and underwent an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results. HSV-2 prevalence was 6.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.4–9.0), and one woman tested positive for HIV.The median age of women was 20 years and 99% of women reported having a single lifetime sex partner.Women whose sex partner …

Comparing Adult Males And Females In The United States To Examine The Association Between Body Mass Index And Frequent Mental Distress: An Analysis Of Data From Brfss 2011, Soumyadeep Mukherjee

Department of Epidemiology

Background. There is conflicting evidence regarding the association of body mass index (BMI) with mental distress. Studies have focused on different dimensions of mental health and used different definitions and many of them have not controlled for confounding factors. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between frequent mental distress (FMD) and BMI among adults in the United States, with special emphasis on gender differences. Methods. Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for the year 2011 were used in logistic regressionmodels to predict FMD, defined as having 14 ormore days of poor mental health …

Novel Nr5a1 Missense Mutation In Premature Ovarian Failure: Detection In Han Chinese Indicates Causation In Different Ethnic Groups, Xue Jiao, Yingying Qin, Guangyu Li, Shidou Zhao, Li You, Jinlong Ma, Joe Leigh Simpson, Zi-Jiang Chen

HWCOM Faculty Publications

Background

The etiology of most premature ovarian failure (POF) cases is usually elusive. Although genetic causes clearly exist and a likely susceptible region of 8q22.3 has been discovered, no predominant explanation exists for POF. More recently, evidences have indicated that mutations in NR5A1 gene could be causative for POF. We therefore screened for mutations in the NR5A1 gene in a large cohort of Chinese women with non-syndromic POF.

Methods

Mutation screening of NR5A1 gene was performed in 400 Han Chinese women with well-defined 46,XX idiopathic non-syndromic POF and 400 controls. Subsequently, functional characterization of the novel mutation identified was evaluated …

Hiv Infection And Drugs Of Abuse: Role Of Acute Phase Proteins, Thangavel Samikkannu, Kurapti Vk Rao, Adriana Y. Arias, Aarthi Kalaichezian, Vidya Sagar, Changwon Yoo, Madhavan Pn Nair

HWCOM Faculty Publications

Background

HIV infection and drugs of abuse such as methamphetamine (METH), cocaine, and alcohol use have been identified as risk factors for triggering inflammation. Acute phase proteins such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) are the biomarkers of inflammation. Hence, the interactive effect of drugs of abuse with acute phase proteins in HIV-positive subjects was investigated.

Methods

Plasma samples were utilized from 75 subjects with METH use, cocaine use, alcohol use, and HIV-positive alone and HIV-positive METH, cocaine, and alcohol users, and age-matched control subjects. The plasma CRP and SAA levels were measured by ELISA and western …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Incidence Of Coronary Heart Disease: A Twin Study, Viola Vaccarino, Jack Goldberg, Cherie Rooks, Amit J. Shah, Emir Veledar, Tracy L. Faber, John R. Votaw, Christopher W. Forsberg, J. Douglas Bremner

Department of Biostatistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Time Trends Of Cigarette And Waterpipe Smoking Among A Cohort Of School Children In Irbid, Jordan, 2008–11, Karma L. Mckelvey, Meredith Leigh Wilcox, Purnima Madhivanan, Fawaz Mzayek, Yousef S. Khader, Wasim Maziak

Department of Epidemiology

Background: Coordinated high-impact interventions and community-level changes in smoking behaviour norms effectively reduced prevalence of smoking among youth in many developed countries. Smoking trends among Jordanian adolescents are likely different than their Western counterparts and must be understood in the context of their daily lives to tailor interventions specifically for adolescents in this setting. Methods: Between 2008 and 2011, a school-based longitudinal study was conducted in Irbid, Jordan. All seventh-grade students in 19 randomly selected schools (of 60) were surveyed annually for 4 years. Outcomes of interest were time trends in smoking behaviour, age at initiation and change …

Effect Of Medical Advice For Diet On Diabetes Self-Management And Glycemic Control For Haitian And African Americans With Type 2 Diabetes, Fatma G. Huffman, Joel C. Exebio, Joan Vaccaro, Gustavo G. Zarini, Zisca Dixon

Department of Dietetics and Nutrition

Adequate care of type 2 diabetes is reflected by the individual’s adherence to dietary guidance; yet, few patients are engaged in diabetes self-care at the recommended level, regardless of race/ethnicity. Few studies on the effect of dietary medical advice on diabetes self-management (DSM) and glycemic control have been conducted on Haitian and African American adults with type 2 diabetes. These relationships were assessed in total of 254 Blacks with type 2 diabetes (Haitian Americans = 129; African Americans = 125) recruited from Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, Florida by community outreach methods. Although dietary advice received was not significantly different between …

Joint-Specific Changes In Locomotor Complexity In The Absence Of Muscle Atrophy Following Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury, Brian K. Hillen, Gary T. Yamaguchi, James J. Abbas, Ranu Jung

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

ackground

Following incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI), descending drive is impaired, possibly leading to a decrease in the complexity of gait. To test the hypothesis that iSCI impairs gait coordination and decreases locomotor complexity, we collected 3D joint angle kinematics and muscle parameters of rats with a sham or an incomplete spinal cord injury.

Methods

12 adult, female, Long-Evans rats, 6 sham and 6 mild-moderate T8 iSCI, were tested 4 weeks following injury. The Basso Beattie Bresnahan locomotor score was used to verify injury severity. Animals had reflective markers placed on the bony prominences of their limb joints and were …